Krieg spun around in an instant, raising his flintlock and aiming straight at Zoro and the others.
His lips curled in a faint sneer, surprised by the sudden appearance of these strangers.
He had seen Luffy's group earlier in the restaurant, of course but back then, he had been weak, his attention drawn to the barefoot old man, Zeff.
He hadn't paid them much mind, assuming they were just a bunch of foolhardy diners.
But now… things were completely different.
He had just been thinking that everything was under his control when Zoro's sudden voice made his heart skip a beat, breaking his train of thought, his bloodlust, his desire…and perhaps, even his fate.
It was like the primal fear of a lesser beast confronted by a predator.
"You… who the hell are you people?"
Feeling the first trace of insecurity in a long time, Krieg checked that his weapon was still loaded and deadly.
The barrel gleamed coldly, trained squarely on Zoro, as he stammered the words.
Zoro, however, ignored him completely. He lowered his head slightly, looking at Sanji, who was pinned beneath Krieg's boot.
"Wouldn't it be smarter to just hand over this ship, move somewhere else, and start over?"
Sanji fell silent for a moment.
Then, as if recalling something, he shouted hoarsely:
"I won't!"
"Why not, Sanji-san?! Isn't it obvious?!"
"If you just give up the restaurant, everyone will be saved!"
Gin, still injured, shouted desperately from the side. He couldn't understand why Sanji was being so stubborn.
"No way!"
Sanji, battered and bloodied, still refused with his usual steel in his voice.
"This restaurant… it's the old man's treasure!"
"I took everything from that geezer, his strength, his dreams… so I'll never!"
"I'll never again…"
CRACK,
A sharp tearing sound echoed as Sanji's leg burst through the steel net restraining him, ripping a hole open.
Taking advantage of it, he kicked his leg free, lifted it high, and stomped down hard.
The weakened planks beneath him collapsed, creating another gaping hole in the deck.
In that instant, Sanji dropped through the hole and slipped free from Krieg's grasp.
"Huh?!"
The sudden turn of events caught Krieg completely off guard.
Before he could react, Sanji had already torn off the netting that bound him and leapt back up through the hole.
He landed in front of Zeff, pounded his chest, and shouted at Krieg and the others:
"If I can't even face death head-on…"
"Then how could I ever repay the old man's kindness?!"
Sanji's expression blazed with resolve, so fierce that everyone present could see it:
He was ready to die for Baratie.
"Cough…"
A weak, rough cough sounded.
"Sanji! I'm not so pathetic that I need a brat like you to save me!"
Zeff clutched his chest, ribs still broken from Gin's blow, grimacing through the pain as he raised his head and shouted:
"You damn brat! Get out of my way already!"
"Heh…"
Sanji's expression didn't change. Calm and steady, he lit a cigarette, placed it in his mouth, and exhaled slowly.
"I just want…"
"…this restaurant to stand a little longer. Even if it's only for one more second."
"What a stupid line!"
Zoro suddenly barked at him, his sharp voice cutting through the tension like a blade.
Everyone turned to look.
But Zoro didn't stop, he raised his voice, fury flashing in his eyes.
"You think dying is how you repay a debt?!"
"You think you can wash away your guilt by throwing away your life?!"
"You're nothing but, "
"A damn coward!"
"What did you say, you moss-headed bastard?! What do you know?!"
Sanji's temper flared instantly, his face twisting in rage as he shouted back.
SHING—!
The sound of a blade being drawn cut through the air, filling it with killing intent so sharp it made the air itself tremble.
Usopp immediately clung to Koby, shivering uncontrollably.
Koby gave a strained smile, whispering to calm him:
"It's all right, Usopp-san. That's just Zoro-sensei's sword, it carries a will of its own."
Having trained under Zoro, Koby was long accustomed to that suffocating aura.
To him, it was as natural as waves on the sea.
The deck fell silent beneath that killing pressure.
Krieg and Gin's faces twisted in fear.
They recognized that aura.
In their nightmares from the Grand Line, that man, the one who nearly destroyed them, had emanated an even more terrifying presence.
Krieg still remembered those eyes.
Those hawk-like eyes.
That cold, elegant face.
And that obsidian black blade.
"W–wait… no…!"
Krieg's eyes went wide as realization struck.
This wasn't his imagination.
He was staring at a figure slowly emerging from the restaurant,
And in that moment, Krieg could have sworn he was back in the Grand Line itself…
Surrounded by danger, powerless to stand.
========
"Why's this still going on, Zoro?"
Luffy, leading the newcomer, complained lightly as he stepped forward.
Zoro didn't answer immediately. His eyes had never left the man behind Luffy, the man with the golden eyes.
"It'll be over soon," Zoro said quietly.
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